Enceladus has volcanoes that are actively erupting around one of its polar areas.
However, unlike Earth’s volcanoes (which erupt molten rock), Enceladus has cryovolcanoes, which erupt primarily water vapor, along with other volatiles.
Some of this material escapes from Enceladus, so as the moon orbits Saturn, it continually sprays microscopic particles into space, forming a ring around Saturn, called the E Ring.
Enceladus has an icy crust, but scientists believe that all this water comes from a subsurface ocean, heated by tidal forces.
Since Enceladus appears to possess a large amount of water, it may be able to support lifeforms, so scientists are eager to perform more in-depth exploration on this small world.
You can view these links to learn more about Enceladus and the other moons of Saturn:
The Enceladus image on this page was taken in 2010 by the Cassini probe, and is courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute. Back to main Saturn page
